Film registering apparatus



March 9, 1948. G, F, RACKETT 2,437,361

F ILM REGISTERING ABPARATUS Filed Feb. 17, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mmh 9, 194s. G, F RACKETT 2,437,361

FILM EGISTERING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 17. 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 9, 1948 FILM REGISTERING APPARATUS v Gerald F. Rackett, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, Hollywood, Calif., a corporation of Maine Application February 17, 1944, Serial No. 522,711 4 Claims. (Cl. 271-23) In various cinematographic processes it is necessary to bring a plurality of lms together in face-to-face contact with each other with their sprocket holes in exact registration. Thus in the imbibition process a blank iilm is printed with one or more dye soaked matrices and, in the case of a multi-layer composite iilm having the differently sensitized layers joined together with transparent adhesive, after the illm has been exposed and developed it has been proposed to transfer the layers to separate bases respectively to'form color-separation illms, `the transfer involving the successive registration of the separate bases with the composite film preparatory to peeling oi the layers. Examples oi' these processes are disclosed in copending application, Serial No. 440,324,1i1ed April 24, 1942, now Patent No. 2,369,176, issued February 13, 1945, and the patents therein referred to.

The best way oi' effecting the aforesaid registration consists in bringing the ilms together on an endless belt or other carrier which has teeth tting the sprocket holes of the :Illms and which travels in an orbital path. The subject-matter of the present application constitutes improved apparatus for thus bringing the illms together;

Objects of the present invention are to produce v' the same pressure at both margins of the ilm.

apparatus which seats the illms on the carrier without damage to the lms, which brings the iilms into intimate contact with each other throughout their widths, which excludes all airv bubbles from between the illms as they are brought together, which is simple and economical to manufacture, which can be assembled and disassembled with facility, and which is readily accessible for cleaning and repairing the parts.

In one aspect the improved apparatus comprises a pin-belt having teeth engageable in sprocket holes of the 111m, in combination with means for continuously feeding two iilms to the belt at spaced locations along its path, with a roller between the two locations for seating the iirst lm on the belt before the second nlm is applied thereover and a roller beyond the second location for seating the second illm over the iirst nlm. y

In a more specific aspect the apparatus comprises a tank and a plate removably mounted in the tank for supporting the aforesaid-rollers with the axes oi' the rollers perpendicular to the plate,

together with means for detachably mounting theY plate on a wall of the tank.

In still another aspect rthe apparatus comprises a carriage for each oi' the seating rollers tog/ether with guides for supporting the bearing for recti- APreferably the apparatus has means for laterally adjusting one of the raceways into snug contact with the rollers and in the preferred embodiment this means comprises a wedge movable lengthwise of the raceways.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which x Fig. 1 is a front elevation with parts broken away; and

Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive are sections on lines 2--2 to 8 8 inclusive of Fig. 1.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a double tank having a bottom I, a central partition 2 (Fig. 2), ends 3 and removable sides each including a frame 4 mounted on the tank with machine screws 5, a glass window 6 held on the frame with a rim 1 and screws 8. Each of the two compartments of the tank on opposite sides ofthe central partitiony 2 is provided with an overiiow outlet 9 and a clean-out opening I0. The opposite ends of each of said compartments is provided with slits to permit the passage of one of the aforesaid pin belts through the tanls, one of these belts being shown at II in Fig. 1. As showny in Fig. 51 the belt II has teeth Il*l adapted to t' the sprocket holes of the lm. As disclosed in the aforesaid patents suitable means may be provided at the slits to minimize the loss of water through the slits, it being understood that wateris continuously supplied to the tank to replace the loss through the slits and keep the level of the water upto the outlet 9. One lm is fed to the belt along the path indicated at I2 and another lm is fed to the belt insuperposition with the fllm along the path indicated at I3 (Fig. 1).

The means for guiding the belt and llm and seating-the lm on the belt are mounted on detachable plates I4 which are mounted on opposite sides of the partition 2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The mounting means comprises a stud I5 having an integral collar I6 seating in a recess on one side of the partition 2, with a nut I'I threaded thereon and seating in a recess on the other side of the partition, and nuts I8y threaded on opposite ends of the stud.

3 As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the means for guiding the belt as it enters and leaves the tank comprises rollers I9 mounted on a bracket 23 which is secured to the supporting plate I4 by means of two screws and a dowel pin (Fig. 1), the rollers having grooved peripheries to receive -the edges of the belt. As shown in Fig. the

roller next to the plate I4 is mounted directly on the bracket 2.3 and the outer roller is mounted on the bracket through the medium of a bifurcated arm 2| which straddles studs 22 and 23 and is pivotally mounted on the latter by means of a pin 24. Intermediate the arm 2| and the head of the stud 22 is,.a spring 23 which yieldingly presses the outer roller against the belt and thence presses the belt against the other roller. By swinging the arm 2| outwardly about the pivot 24 against the action of the spring 23 the belt may be removed from between the rollers.

The nlm entering the tank along the path I2 rst passes under a roller 23 and thence between upper and lower seating rolls 21 and 23. 'I'he nlm entering along path |3 passes under rolls 29, 33 and 3|. thence between upper and lower seating rolls 32 and 33 and thence under another roller 34. An endless belt 33 travels around the rolls 3|, 32 and 34 so that the upper seating roll 32 compresses the illms against the belt through the medium o f the belt 33, the latter belt having sprocket holes iitting over the teeth Il'l on the belt The emulsion side of the film entering along the path I2 is washed by a jet of water supplied through pipe 33 and chamber 31 and a narrow slit in the cover plate 33, the slit extending diagonally of the plate and obliquely to both the longitudinal and transverse dimensions o! the film. Thus the water is sprayed against the lm in the form of a thin sheet. This water serves to replenish the loss through the slits for the belt the excess overilowing through the outlet 9.

The lower seating rolls are rotatably mounted on pins 33 fast in bracket 31 secured to the outer face of plate I4. 'Ihe upper seating rolls are mounted on vertically reciprocating carriages 33 by means of pivot pins 39, the carriages sliding up and down between vertical guides 43. At its lower end the left-hand carriage 33 (Fig. 1) has laterally extending ears uponthe forward sides of which the rolls 3| and 34 are pivotally mounted. Each of the carriages is pressed downwardly by spring 4| the upper end of which seats against a screw 42 threaded through an arm 43 which is pivoted on the plate I4 by means of a pin 44.l A nut 43 is threaded on the upper end of the screw 42 to serve as a lock. The arm 43 is held in the operative position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a pin 43 extending therethrough and thence into an opening in the back plate I4 (Fig. 4). By means of a ball detent 41 the pin 43 is yieldingly held either in the operative position shown in Fig.' 1 or the inoperative position in which the end of the pin does not extend into the supporting plate I4. In the inoperative position the arm 43 may be swung upwardly to permit the withdrawal of the carriage 33 from between the guideways 43.

-. means of a pin 32 extending through a slot 33 in the bar. The race 43 is adjustable toward the race 49 by means of a wedge 34 between the race and the stationary part 43, the wedge 34 being adjustable up and down by means of a screw 33 (Fig. 1). As shown in Fig. 3 there is sumcient clearance between the race 43 and the screws securing it to the plate I4 to permit the lateral adjustment of the race 43 when the screws are loosened. v

As shown in Fig. 8 the peripheries of the upper seating rolls 21 have annular recesses 31 to receive the pins projecting from the pin-belt, these recesses being formed in rings 33 detachably mounted on the sides of the roll 21. Thus the seating rollers bear on the nim both inside and outside the pins or teeth le.

Mounted on the back plate I4, between the rolls 33 and 3| and the back plate. is a block 31 whose forward iace is milled out to receive the rear ilanges of the rolls 33 and 3| and whose left-hand end (Fig. l) is shaped to conform tov the periphery of the upper seating roll 32. Mounted on the forward face of the block 31- are three blocks whose thicknesses are approximately equal to the width of the rolls 33 and 3|, namely a block 33 extending from roll 33 to roll 3| above the belt, a block 39 above the belt on the righthand side of roll (Fig. 1) and a block 33 extending along the under side of the belt to the lower seating roll 33, the block 33 serving as a support for the belt. Fast to the forward faces of blocks 33. 39 and 33 is a transparent cover plate 3| of Bakelite or the like.

As shown in Fig. 1 the block 33 has a hollow passageway 3| through which a jet of water is directed between the converging portions of the 40 two lms to clear out any foreign matter which may have found its way into this space. Water is supplied to the nozzle 3| through a pipe 32 which communicates with an opening 33 in the block 39.

1. Film registering apparatus comprising a belt having teetlr engageable in sprocket holes ot the Interposed between each carriage and its guides are ball races 43 and 49 (Figs. 1 and 3), the race 43 being secured to the back plate and the race 49 being secured to the carriage. Interposed between the two raceways are balls 33 held in position by a bar 3| having openings to receive the balls. To prevent the bar 33 from falling away film, a tank having means for guiding said belt along a predetermined path therethrough, means for continuously feeding two iilms to the belt at spaced locations along said path, a roller between the two locations for seating the iirst film on thebelt before the second film is applied thereover, a roller beyond the second location for seating the second illm over the first nlm, a plate perpendicular to the axes of said rollers for supporting said means' and rollers. and means for detachably mountingl the plate on a wall of the tank, eachof said seating rollers bearing on the illm both inside and outside said teeth andhaving spaces to accommodate the teeth, whereby the ilrst nlm is pressed tightly against the belt both inside and outside said teeth before the second nlm is seated on the iirst film.

2. Film registering apparatus comprising a belt having teeth engageable in sprocket holes of the film, a tank having means for guiding said belt along a predetermined path therethrough, means for continuously feeding two nlms to the belt at spaced locations along said path, a roller between the two locations for seating the first hn on the belt before the second iilm is applied thereover, a roller beyond the second location for seating the second lm over the first llm, a plate perpendicular to the axes of said rollers for supporting said means and rollers,.and means for detachably mounting the plate on a wall of the tank, the opposite wall of the tank being transparent so that the apparatus may be inspected without removing said plate from the tank, each oi' said seating rollers bearing on the ilm both inside and outside said teeth and having spaces to accommodate the teeth, whereby the rst film is pressed' tightly against the belt both inside and outside said teeth before the second lm is seated on the rst lm.

3. In registering two films on a belt having teeth engageable in sprocket holes of the films, the belt feeding along a predetermined path and being at least approximately as wide as the film so that films can seat on the belt throughout substantially their entire width, the method which comprises feeding the two illms to the belt respectively at two locations spaced along said path, between the two locations seating the rst lm on the belt, and beyond the second location separately seating the second illm on the rst film, each of said seating steps comprising compressing the belt and lm both inside and outside said teeth, whereby the iirst iilm is pressed tightly against the belt both inside and outside said teeth before the second nlm is seated on the ilrst nlm.

4. Film registering apparatus comprising a belt having teeth engageable in sprocket holes of the lm, the belt being at least approximately as wide as the illm so that ilm can seat on the belt throughout substantially its entire width, means for guiding the belt along a predetermined path, means for feeding two iilms to the belt respectively at two locations spaced along said path,

means between the two locations for seating the rst illm on the belt, and means beyond the second location for separately seating the second nlm on the rst film, each of said seating means comprising sets of rolls which compress the belt and lm both inside and outside said teeth, the rolls on one side of the belt having spaces to accommodate the teeth, whereby the iirst illm is pressed tightly against the belt both inside and outside said teeth before the second illm is seated on the rst film.

GERALD F. RACKETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Namo Date 1,707,695 Trolnd ADI'. 2. 1929 Whitney ..---------a. Apr. 2, 1929 

